At last! A victory for Lord Triesman in surely the last act of England's 2018 lost cause

Surely the last act of England’s doomed bid to host the 2018 World Cup has been played out in the High Court, with a belated victory for former FA chairman Lord Triesman.

Mr Justice Tugendhat struck out Thailand FA chairman Worawi Makudi’s claim for libel and slander against Triesman, who had alleged the FIFA executive member asked for the TV rights for himself during discussions around the aborted Thailand versus England friendly.

But Makudi’s legal team alleged they
were repeated as part of Triesman’s evidence to QC James Dingemans’s
report, ordered by the FA. This came after Triesman’s explosive
allegations to the DCMS select committee inquiry into the 2018 fiasco.

The Makudi claim says that Triesman had called the Thai FA chief ‘unethical, corrupt and unfit to serve as a member of the FIFA executive committee’.

But the judge concluded: ‘The claim for damages is an abuse of the process of the court. The publications complained of were plainly all on occasions of qualified privilege.’

Lord Triesman’s great foe, Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, has just been appointed as a Thai FA consultant by Makudi.

An unexpected guest

The last person you would expect to agree to a one-to-one interview with Football Focus would be Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who snubbed the BBC for more than seven years in protest at their documentary in 2004 about his agent son Jason.

But it is understood Fergie sitting down for a chat with Dan Walker was due to the BBC presenter hosting a number of United charity events - including Fergie’s 25-year managerial anniversary bash.

Former FA and Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein was the only name from the top of English football who bothered to attend the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Johannesburg. And Dein was there in a private capacity as he no longer has any official role for club or country.

Get our name right!

Bradford City's feat in reaching the Capital One Cup final from the fourth tier of English football has put their name in lights. But, bizarrely, the club are still concerned about being mixed up with Bradford Park Avenue - who play in the Conference League North.

Finance director Alan Biggin says it ‘really grates’ that the Wembley finalists are commonly called Bradford, rather than Bradford City. Biggin writes: ‘When a club such as ours achieves some very unexpected success, there is always a slight air of patronising condescension. This manifests itself particularly in the incorrect title often ascribed to us. We are not Bradford AFC.’

United stars get a lie-in

English
teams started flying home directly after European matches to ensure
their players didn’t have the opportunity to go out drinking, as was the
regular old-school practice. However, Manchester United will be staying
in Madrid after Wednesday's Champions League tie because the latest
sports science points to it being better for the players to get a proper
night’s sleep, rather than travelling late at night.

Wembley bound: Bradford City are being mixed up with Bradford Park Avenue

Capello's legacy

The Capello Index, which Fabio rashly launched as England manager, doesn’t have much credibility judging by current ratings. The only two English-born players in the Premier League top 10 are Stoke’s Cameron Jerome and Southampton’s Jason Puncheon. England star Jack Wilshere is ranked 133rd.

Miscalculation? Jack Wilshere is 133rd on the Capello Index

Peaceful co-existence?

The tensions between the Egyptian owners of Hull City and Adam Pearson, who runs rugby league team Hull FC from the same KC Stadium, are such that all rugby memorabilia was removed from the ground before the weekend Super League clash with Bradford.

This included taking down a picture of RL legend Johnny Whiteley from the suite named after him. The Allam family, who also own the stadium management company, say Hull FC have not paid for picture displays. Pearson, sacked as head of football operations by the Allams, is linked to a consortium trying to buy Leeds United.